Contessa 32

NEW STANDING RIGGING & Running Rigging

NEW Mast wiring and lighting

NEW Main Sail

Fresh Engine Service

NEW Interior cushions

NEW Battery Charger

NEW Batteries

NEW Dodger eisenglass

Sailing dinghy with sails included

METEOR was designed by David Sadler, built in Canada by J.J. Taylor to Lloyds Standards. This Blue Water Cruiser is well equipped to go offshore or across the Bay.  The Contessa 32 is modern classic, which has become the benchmark for seaworthy offshore cruising yachts. These elegant yachts are fast, comfortable, sea kindly and ever-popular.

1. The Contessa 32 has proven itself in extreme ocean racing

The Contessa 32 shot to fame in the 1972 OSTAR (Observer Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race)—a brutal solo race from England to the U.S.

• “Assent,” a Contessa 32, finished 4th overall, beating many much larger and more powerful boats.

• Even more impressive: several Contessa 32s finished, while many bigger, more “modern” designs retired or broke.

This race cemented the boat’s reputation as exceptionally seaworthy, tough, and trustworthy offshore.

2. A benchmark of seaworthy design

Designed by David Sadler, the Contessa 32 became a textbook example of what people now call a “proper little ocean boat”:

• Long keel, moderate displacement

• Narrow beam by modern standards

• Strong fiberglass layup

• Kind motion at sea and excellent tracking in heavy weather

In an era when some designers were chasing lighter, racier shapes, the Contessa 32 showed that balance, strength, and seakeeping matter more than raw speed offshore.

3. Changed how people viewed “small” offshore boats

Before boats like the Contessa 32, many sailors believed you needed much larger yachts to cross oceans safely. The Contessa helped prove that:

A well-designed 32-footer could cross oceans, survive storms, and bring its crew home.

That idea influenced decades of cruising and offshore yacht design.

4. Hugely popular and long-lived

• Hundreds were built, and many are still sailing today—some with multiple ocean crossings under their keels.

• They developed a reputation for outliving owners rather than the other way around.

• Even now, surveyors, sailors, and designers often point to the Contessa 32 as a gold standard of small offshore cruisers.

5. A cult classic with a serious reputation

The Contessa 32 isn’t just nostalgic—it’s respected because it earned that respect in real oceans, real storms, and real races. Its history is tied to:

• The rise of modern offshore cruising

• The proof of concept for small, tough ocean boats

• A shift toward valuing seaworthiness over marketing specs

In short

The Contessa 32 is historically significant because it proved, in the hardest possible way, that a small, well-designed yacht could be a serious ocean-going vessel—and it helped shape what sailors still look for in offshore boats today.

It is considered to be one of the “bulletproof cruiser” family ⛵